Improvement in machines for filling cartridges



2 Sheets-Sheet I. DODGE & SMITH.

Cartridge-filling Machine. N0.'56,489. Patented July 17, 1866.

NPETERS, FHOTO-UTHOGRAFHER, WASHINGTON. D c.

Patente Jul 17, 1866.

N FETERS, PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON. D C.

marked thereon, making UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIce.

WM. C. DODGE AND It. D. 0. SMITH, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUM- BIA,ASSIGNORS TO W. C. DODGE AND W. S. KING.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR FILLING CARTRIDGES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 56.489. dated July 17.1866.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, WILLIAM C. Doncn andROBERT D. 0. SMITH, of the city of Washington, in the District ofColumbia, have inin vented certain new and useful Improvements Machinesfor Filling Cartridge Cases or Shells with Powder; and wedo herebydeclarethat the following is a clear, full, and exact descriptionthereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to theletters of reference part of this specification.

Figure l is a vertical section of one style of our machine, and Figs. 2and 3 are views of one of the slides detached for the purpose ofexhibiting the details thereof. Fig. 4; is a perspective view of anotherstyle of our improved machine, with a portion broken away for thepurpose of exhibiting the internal arrangement. Figs. 5, 6, 7, and S areviews of detached portions for the purpose of illustrating more clearlyits construction and operation.

The object of our invention is fourfold, viz: First, to lessen thedanger attending the operation of filling cartridges; second, to savelabor and expedite the operation; third, to secure greater accuracy anduniformity in the quantity of powder placed in each cartridge; and,fourth, to indicate and vary or regulate the quantity of powder filledinto the cartridges at will.

Our invention consists in providing'a box having a hopper for holdingthe powder and arranging therein a series of slides and tubes formeasuring and delivering to the cartridgecases the required quantity ofthe same by simply working a lever.

It further consists in providing means for varying or regulating thequantity of powder placed in each cartridge-case and automaticallyindicating the quantity, and in certain other details hereinafterdescribed.

To enable those skilled in the art to construct and use our invention,we will proceed to describe it.

In Fig. 1, A represents a rectangular box, the upper portion of whichconstitutes a hopper for the reception of the powder, and which weprefer to make of the proper size to contain one hundred pounds ofpowder at least,

so that when a package of powder is opened it may all be emptied intothe hopper at once, when, the cover being closed and secured, the powderis secured from exposure to flying sparks and all similar causes ofaccidental explosion, whereby the operation is rendered far more safethan when conducted in the usual manner.

K represents a sieve placed within the hopper at any desired height forthe purpose of excluding coarse grams or any foreign substances thatmight choke up the tubes or pas sages in the slides and hopper-bottom.

Owing to the irregular shape of the grains of powder it is found to bealmost impossible to till cartridges by hand with a uniform quantity,the variation being frequently as great as three grains by weight in anordinary cartridge It is obvious that this variation in the quantityburned in the gun renders the flight of the ball equally variable, thusin effect destroying to a greater or less extent the accuracy, andconsequently the usefulness'and reliability, of the arm.

In filling cartridges by hand the powder is dipped from an open troughor box by a cup or measure intended to contain the exact quantityrequired; but in practice it is found that if in thus dipping it the cupis passed through a larger or smaller mass of powder, or if in strikingor leveling off the top it happens to be struck against the wire usedfor that purpose with more or less force, or if the cup happens to behit against the sides of the box by accident or otherwise-4n either orall of these cases the powder is settled or packed more or less, andhence the variation in quantity.

To remedy or obviate these diiiiculties we provide the following means:First, we perforate the bottom 13 of the hopper with a series of holes,b, for the powder to pass through into the measuring-tubes Y below. Itis obvious that if the powder were permitted to flow directly from thehopper into these tubes Y much more would be pressed into them when thehopper was full, or nearly so, than when nearly empty by the weight andpressure of the superincumbent mass of powder, To prevent this weinterpose the auxiliary slide C, having series of holes 0 arrangedtocorrespond with the openings 1) in the hopper-bottorn, between saidbottom and the measuringtubes Y, as shown in Fig. 1.

It will be observed that these parts are so arranged that when the holes0 in slide (J are brought directly over the mouths of the tubes Y theircommunication with the holes I) in the hopper-bottom is out off, andconsequently the tubes Y will then be filled under the pressure of thepowder contained in the holes 0 only. In addition to this we locatedirectly over the mouth of each row or series of holes I) in thehopper-bottom a strip or bar, a, as shown in Fig. 1 in section. This bara receives most of the pressure of the powder in the hopper, and by beinplaced over the openings 1) prevents the powder from pressing or runningdirectly 'down through the said openings into the cells or holes c ofslide 0. In order to reach the cells 0 the powder has to pass downbetween the bars a, from whence it is deflected from its line ofmovement at an angle of nearly forty five degrees into the funnelshapedmouths of the openings 1), at which point its line of motion is againchanged to a vertical direction, thus breaking up and retardingitsdirect current or line of movement and causing it to enter the cells 0with great uniformity of motion and pressure. By the combination ofthese means we deliver the powder to the measuring-tubes Y with anunpreceden ted degree of uniformity and accuracy, regardless of theamount of powder in the hopper.

For the purpose of regulating the charge delivered to the case, the tubeY, which is the measuring-tube proper, is composed of two separatetubes, 4 and 0, one sliding within the other telescopically, as shownclearly in Figs. 1 and 4. The upper tubes, (1, are-secured to a plate,D, which is fastened firmly in position, its upper smface forming asupport for the slide 0, the adjoining faces of said plate and slidebeing made to fit together with as perfect accuracy as possible. Thelower tubes, 0, are secured to a similar plate, E, which is firmlyfastened to two or more rods, L, arranged to move vertically in guidesm, attached to the sides of the box A.

A shaft, T, (see Figs. 4 and 5,) passes transversely through the box Abetween the plates D and E, and is provided with a slotted cam, R, neareach end, a pin projecting from the rods Lor from the edges of plate Eworking in said slot.

Upon the outside of the box A a lever, s, is secured to the end of theshaft T, so that by moving this levers and rotating the shaft T and camsR the plate E, with its tubes 0, may be raised or lowered as desired,thus varying or regulating at will the quantity of powder which themeasuring tubes Y will contain.

A slotted segmental plate, T, is secured to the side of the box A insuch a position that the end of the levers will sweep over its face whenmoved for the purpose of adjusting the tubes Y, and on this plate T aremarked the number of grains that the tubes Y will con tain when the endof the lever is set opposite any of said numbers. A thumb-screw issecured in the lever s at the proper position for its end to passthrough the slot in plate T and screw into a nut moving in a recessunderneath said plate, by which the lever s, which thus constitutes anindex, may be secured at any desired point, and at the same timeindicating the quantity of powder with which the cartridges will befilled with the machine thus set.

hen the tubes Y are adjusted by this arrangement of devices it will beobserved that the movement of the plate E, with its tubes 0, will not beuniform, but will increase in proportion as the cam R assumes orapproaches a horizontal position, as illustrated by the wellknown caseof a crank and pitman united. In such case the graduations on theindexplate T must be varied in their distances apart to correspond. Toobviate this we propose to use instead of the cams R a small pinion ateach end of the shaft T, arranged to gear into cogs cut on the rods L;or, if preferred, a screwthread may be cut on said rods and a nut placedthereon and held by suitable bearings from moving vertically, these nutsbeing turned by a screw cut on the shaft T and engaging in teeth on theperiphery of said nuts.

\Vhen either of these means for adjusting the tubes Y are used themovement of the plate E will be rendered perfect] y uniform.

hen the pinion is used the end of the lever can be used as an index, andthe graduations on the index-plate will be located at equal intervals;but in using the screw and nut it is obvious that the lever or crankattached to the shaft T cannot be thus used, for the reason that thesame will require to be rotated several times, in order to give to plateE the necessary movement, and in such case the index or pointer maybeattached directly to the plate itself, or to one of the rods, and madeto protrude through a slot cut in the side of the box, a graduated platebeing used in this case also.

F represents a slide fitted closely to the under side of plate E andattached thereto in such a manner as to rise or fall with said plate Ewhen the latter is moved for the purpose of adjusting the tubes, asbefore described, but free to move to and fro. This slide F is providedwith series of openings at, arranged to correspond with the tubes Y.

A lug, 1), attached to the upper face of slide F, projects through aslot in plate E, and is connected by a rod, h, to the spring 9 at oneside, and by the rod t to the lever P at the other side of the box, thespring 9 serving to keep the slide F drawn back. so as to keep the lowerends of the tubes Y closed, when the lever P is in the position shown inFig. 1. The lever P is pivoted to the stem 0, projecting from slide 0through the side of box A, the slide U being held forward by spring f.These springs f and g are made of such comparative strength or stiffnessthat when the lever P has its upper end pressed toward the box A thespring f will yield and permit the slide 0 to be pressed back far enoughto bring its cells 0 in line with the openings 1) of the hopper-bottom,as indicated in red lines, when the slide 0 strikes against a stop andbecomes stationary, affording a permanent fulcrum for V the. time beingfor/lever I, which, continuing its movement, then draws the slide Fforward, bringing its holes a in line with the bottoms of tubes Y andpermitting the powder therein to pass down through the funnelshapedholes 00 in the plate I, which conduct it into the cartridge-cases o,placed underneath to receive it.

When the pressure is removed from the lever P the spring g, beingstrongest operates first, and draws plate F back and closes the bottomof tubes Y, after which spring f forces slide 0 forward, thereby cuttingoff communication with the hopper above and discharging the powder fromits cells 0 into the tubes Y. This operation of theleverP and the slidesis more fully illustrated in Fig. 5, which, although representing asimpler form of the machine, has the same movement of the slides. Inthat figure line 1 represents the normal position of the lever. Line 2represents the position of the lever when the upper slide is shovedback, and line 3 the position of the lever when the lower slide is drawnforward.

When the machine is constructed as represented in Figs. 4 and 5, withoutthe auxiliary slide 0, and the measuring-tubes open direct fromthebottom of the hopper, this arrangement of the lever and slides isabsolutely necessary, for the reason that if the lower ends of the tubesY be not closed entirely before their upper ends are opened at all, thepowder will flow in a stream direct from the hopper down throngh'thetube Y into the cases below, and thus more than the proper charge willbe allowed to pass.

G-represents a drawer arranged to slide into the box A directly underthe slide F. This drawer G rests upon a frame, W, which is attached tothe rods L, as shown in Fig.1,so that it will always retain its relativeposition to the plate E and slide F, rising or falling therewith as theymay be moved to ad ust the tubes Y. The drawer G has a cover, I,permanently attached, provided with series of funnel-shaped holes 00, asshown in Fig. 1.

H represents a slide of sufficient thickness to have holes bored thereindeep enough to receive the cartridge-cases n, which are arranged inseries corresponding with the holes w, the lower ends of said holesbeing of less diameter than the cases n, which stand with their openends directly under said holes, so as to receive the powder therefrom,the cases here shown being such as'are used in breechloadin g guns andin which thepowder is placed first, the bullet being inserted afterward.

In order to prevent the powder from being caught and crushed between theedges of the cells 0 and openings 1), the slide 0 is provided around itsupper edges with a slightly-raised rim or projection, a, as shown moreclearly in section in Fig. 3. By this arrangement a space equal to thethickness of a grain of powder is left between the upper face of slide 0and the lower side of the hopper bottom B. whereby the grains areprevented from being caught and crushed betwcen the edges of the cells aand openings I). By this means, also, the friction between slide (landthe hopper-bottom B is confined to the raised rim it alone, instead ofextending over the whole surface of the two parts. In order tocompensate for the wear of these parts, and for their swelling orshrinking if constructed of wood, this raised rim n is made separatefrom the body of the slide 0 and fitted in arecess formed around theedges thereof, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and rests upon springs 0',which keep the rim in close contact with the under side of B at alltimes.

In case the machine is to be used for filling only the style ofcartridges shown in Fig. 1, the drawer G may be dispensed with and theslide H, with the cases o, be placed directly under and next to theslide F, said slide F being made thicker in that case, so as to give theopenings to the necessary taper to insure the powder entering the cases'0. In order, however, to adapt the machine to filling cartridges formuzzle-loading guns also, and which cartridges usually have the ballsattached prior to the filling in of the powder, the opening in the boxmust be or sufficient size to receive a drawer containing this latterstyle of cases, which are considerably longer than the others; and asthe most convenient manner of filling up the surplus space, the drawer Gis provided, it being the same depth as that used with themuzzle-loading style of cartridge, the slide H being inserted near theupper side of the drawer G, so as to bring the mouths of the cases 0close under the holes .1.

When the machine is to be used for filling the long cartridges the top Iof the drawer G is made removable, and is provided with a series oftubes,t t, as shown in Figs.o,7, and S. The drawer G is divided bypartitions y and y, which cross each other at right angles into a seriesof cells of proper size to receive the cartridge-cases, as shown in Fig.5.

The cover I, provided with its tubes t, is placed upside down, as shownin Figs. 7 and S, and the cases a placed thereon as the bullets arefastened to them. When the cover I has been thus filled with cases it isplaced on the frame M, and the drawer G, being turned bottom up, isplaced overit, the frame M serving to guide the drawer in its descent,so as to insure the tubes 1, with the cases 0, entering the cells in thedrawer, as shown in Fig. 5. When thus arranged the drawer G is turnedrightside up and inserted in the lower portion of the box A, and thelever P being operated the cases are charged, after which the drawer iswithdrawn and the cover I is removed, leaving the filled cases 0standing in the cells ready to be choked or covered up and stored awayin the drawers, as may be desired.

If desired, the tubes t may be used with the other style of cartridgesalso; but in practice it is not found necessary, and the operation ismore rapid and simple without.

By making the cases 0 of uniform length and diameter they may be filledwithout the use of the tubes t, the same as the cases 0; but as usuallyconstructed they are not sufficiently uniform to insure perfect success.

It is obvious that metallic cases can be substituted in the place of thelinen cases 2;, and

filled in the same manner.

Figs. 4, 5, .and 6 represent a modification of our improved machinewithout the bars a and the auxiliary slide 0. In this case themeasuring-tubes Y are located directly under the hopper-bottom. Insteadof the slides O and F, a series of independent slides 2 (shown in Fig. 6in plan) are used, the tubes Y havinga horizontal slot cut in themhalf-way across the tube to permit the slide 2 to enter and close thetube. These slides or valves 2 are arranged in pairs and attached torods 12, which pass between the tubes Y, and are connected at front andrear by cross-bars 20, so that all are united and can be movedsimultaneously by the rod 0', which is connected to the lever P, asshown in Fig. 5. A similar series of slides work through openings in thetubes Y, near their lower ends, and are operated by the rod 2', attachedto the lower end of lever P. The -tubes Y are constructed the same inthis as in the former case. This form of the machine is only intendedfor use where very coarse powder is used and where great accuracy is notrequired.

It is obvious that a machine constructed and operating on the samegeneral plan may be used for filling cartridges for artillery also, amuch less number of tubes, however, being necessary.

If desired, the slide H may be so arranged that it can be shoved throughan opening in the back side of the box Aby simply shoving another in atthe front with a fresh supply of cases; but if that be done somemeanssuch as a spring-catch or some similar device-must be provided toinsure the stopping of the slide at the exact position required to bringthe mouths of the cartridge-cases under the openings 90, so as to insurethe entry of the powder therein without spilling.

The only limit to the number of cases that can be filled at a singleoperation is the size of the tray that can be handled with convenience.When cases with the balls attached are to be filled, one hundred tubeswill be as many as can be used to advantage, and with such a machine aquarter of a million of cases can be filled in a single day. When thestyle of cases shown in Fig. l is to be filled, four hundred can behandled in a single slide with ease and filled at one movement of thelever, and as in that case the slides require only to be inserted andwithdrawn without reversing the drawer, six slides full can be filledper minute, making the enormous quantity of nearly a million and a halfin ten hours.

All that is required to perform the operation is to fill the hopper withpowder, insert the slide with the cases in, and press the lever.

It will be understood that the cases will be placed in the slides or onthe tubes t (if that style be used) when made (a requisite number of theslides H or covers I being provided with each machine) by the personsforming the cases as they are made, thus saving any extra labor orhandling in preparing them for the machine.

It will, of course, be understood that if meta-l be used in theconstruction of the machine, it must be of brass or such otherkind willnot ignite the powder by its friction.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim isl. A machinefor filling cartridges in which the powder is entirely inclosed duringthe operation.

2. A series of measuring-tubes so arranged that they can be adjusted tocontain a greater or less quantity at will, substantially as described.

3. The combination and arrangement of the lever P, for operating theslides, with springs of different tension for causing the slides tooperate alternately with a single movement of the lever, substantiallyas and for the purpose set forth.

4. The auxiliary charger (J, arranged in relation to the hopper-bottom Band the tubes Y, and operating in connection therewith, substantially asdescribed.

5. The bars a or their equivalents, arranged over the openings b of thehopper-bottom, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. Providing the slide (J with the raised rim n, with or without thesprings r, as shown and described.

7 The combination of adjusting devices for regulating the charge withthe index-lever s and graduated plate T, as and for the purpose setforth.

8. The slides H provided with cells for receiving the cartridge cases,substantially as described.

9. The drawer G, in combination with the cover 1, provided with thetubes t, arranged to operate as and for the purpose set forth.

WILLIAM (J. DODGE. R. D. 0. SMITH. Witnesses:

E. R. MGKEAN, U. D. SMITH.

